Collection system and method

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method for initiating online collections that includes determining a current status of an account held by an account holder, determining a real-time financial profile of the account holder using information on the banking institution computer systems and third party information providers and displaying a customized status message based on the account holder&#39;s financial profile. The method provides remediation options to the account holder.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/876,202 entitled “Collection System and Method” andfiled on Sep. 10, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety. The present application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S.Ser. No. 12/509,300 entitled “Online Collection Portal System andMethod” and filed on Jul. 24, 2009, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

On-line banking tools offer customers of financial institutions aconvenient way to manage their accounts without having to visit brickand mortar locations. Consumer and commercial on-line banking tools areavailable and permit account holders to perform account managementoperations such as funds transfers, bill payment, cash and treasurymanagement, investment, procurement, international, trust, and creditand loan services, and so on.

Currently, banking institutions continue to need to reach their accountholders regarding when their accounts have an adverse account status andfor performing remediation (e.g., collections) activities. Whileexisting on-line banking tools have proved useful, an ongoing needexists for further improvements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Example embodiments relate to a computer-implemented method forinitiating account status remediation that includes receiving logininformation from an account holder, responding to the login informationby accessing a database, and retrieving information from the databaseregarding an account held by the account holder. The method furtherincludes generating a display for the account holder via a usercomputing device. The display shows a status message generated based onthe information retrieved from the database. The message informs theaccount holder of an adverse account status of the account that needs tobe remediated.

Example embodiments relate to a computer-implemented method forinitiating account status remediation by receiving bank account log ininformation from an account holder, determining a current status of theaccount held by the account holder, and displaying a message to theaccount holder. The message informs the account holder of an adverseaccount status and provides remedial options.

Example embodiments relate to a computer-implemented method forinitiating online collections by determining a real-time risk assessmentfor an account of an account holder using information in the bankinginstitution computer systems and third party information providers. Themethod further comprises displaying a status message customized based onthe risk assessment. The method allows the banking institution to varythe urgency of the displayed message.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a data processing system according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an example process that may be implemented using the systemshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sequence of displays that may be provided to an accountholder using the system shown in FIG. 1 to begin a web based collectionsprocess.

FIG. 4 is a customizable splash screen showing delinquent account statusand various options that may be presented to an account holder.

FIG. 5 is a screen display showing account summaries for variousaccounts held by an account holder.

FIG. 6 is a screen display showing account details for one of theaccounts of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a screen display showing various payment options available toan account holder.

FIG. 8 is a sequence of displays that may be provided to an accountholder using the system shown in FIG. 1 to provide a virtual collectionagent.

FIG. 9 is a screen display showing a first payment program that may beoffered to an account holder.

FIG. 10 is a screen display that may be provided to an account holder toprovide details about a funding account to be used in connection withthe payment program of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a screen display that may be provided to an account holder toshow terms and relate messages in connection with an accepted paymentprogram.

FIG. 12 is a screen display that may be provided to an account holder inconnection with a second payment program that may be offered to theaccount holder.

FIG. 13 is an example process that may be implemented using the systemshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a screen display that may be provided to an account holderwhen at least one of the accounts held by an account holder isdelinquent.

FIG. 15 is an overlay display that may be provided to an account holderin connection with the display from FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 shows a screen display that shows a payment confirmation pagewhen the account holder has selected the pay now button in FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a screen display that may be provided to an account holder inconnection with an account that is in delinquent status.

FIG. 18 is a screen display that may be provided to an account holderwhen the account holder selects the view more payment options link fromFIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a screen display that may be provided to an account holderwhen the account holder has made a partial payment for a past dueaccount.

FIG. 20 is a screen display that may be provided to an account holderwhen the account is seriously delinquent (e.g. more than a predeterminednumber of pay periods behind).

FIG. 21 is a screen display that may be provided to an account holderwith an account that is more than 90 days late.

FIG. 22 is a screen display that may be displayed when the accountholder requests assistance.

FIG. 23 is a screen display that includes a persistent message that isdisplayed when an account holder has a past due account.

FIG. 24 is a screen display that may be displayed for a user of an ATMwith a past due account.

FIG. 25 is a screen display that may be generated by a mobile device foran account holder with a delinquent account.

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of a financial institution computingsystem according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a flow diagram of a method performed by an optimizationengine according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 27A is a flow diagram of a process of determining individualcustomer action according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a flow diagram of an advisor manager decision making processaccording to an example embodiment.

FIG. 28A is a flow chart of a customer category scheme of the process ofFIG. 28 according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a flow chart of a process involving the customer profileaccording to an example embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram showing customer preferences according toan example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Example embodiments disclosed herein assist customers cope with paymentchallenges, collect a debt and/or mitigate losses by using technology.Account holders interact with various entities on the Internet or aclient side application by using computers, tablets, smartphones or thelike. Account holders with an adverse account status may be reached viaan online collection service instead via telephone and/or physical mail.Moreover, an Internet interaction is convenient and private for anaccount holder with an adverse account status. It may be efficient foran account holder to remedy the adverse account status withoutinteracting with another individual that is employed by a collector or acreditor.

Many financial institutions offer more than one credit account to asingle account holder. For example, a financial institution may provideits customer various credit accounts, such as but not limited to, acredit card, retail, PLL, direct auto loan, EFS, overdraft, home equityline, mortgage, and so on. The online collection system may utilizevarious online channels to reach an account holder with an adverseaccount status. For example, the online collection system may use anapplication that is being executed on a smart phone, tablet, laptop,computer or television screens. In other embodiments, the onlinecollection system may be served using a web server to the user. Theonline collection system may include various capabilities, such as butnot limited to interruptive sign-on messaging, persistent messaging,public website home page, email, proactive text messages, ATM messaging,charged-off accounts, on us (within a single institution) and off uspayments (more than one financial institution). Other capabilities mayinclude using future date payments, SMS (text) messaging, settlementoffers, secure chat, schedule a call, online form, stay on track toolsand payment reminders.

Referring to FIG. 1, a data processing system 100 according to anexample embodiment is shown. The data processing system 100 includes anenterprise computing system 105 that may include, among other systems,account management logic 110, network interface logic 120, data storagesystem 130, and collections portal logic 140. The data processing system100 may further include account holder computer systems 150 and thirdparty data provider computer systems 160.

In an example embodiment, the enterprise computing system 105 may beprovided by a financial institution, such as a bank, and the accountholder 152 may be a customer of the financial institution that accessesthe system 105 through tellers at retail bank branches, through theInternet, or in another manner. The customers may, for example, accesssystem 105 through an on-line banking area of a website of the bank. Asanother example, computing system 105 may be associated with other typesof companies that maintain customer accounts, such as credit cardissuers, mortgage companies, utility companies, insurance companies, andso on. As another example, part or all of computing system 105 may beassociated with vendors to whom billing, collection, or call centeroperations are outsourced by other companies.

In the example where system 105 is provided by a financial institution,such as a bank, account management logic 110 may further include accountprocessing logic 113, statement generation logic 115, account statuslogic 117, and funds transfer logic 119. Such logic may be implementedin a machine (e.g., one or more networked computer servers) comprisingmachine-readable media having instructions stored therein which areexecuted by the machine to perform the operations described herein.

The account processing logic 113 may perform account processing toprocess transactions in connection with the account(s) of an accountholder 152, such as account debits and credits to checking and savingsaccounts, credits and debits to home mortgage and home equity accounts,credits and debits to student loan accounts, and so on. For example, inthe context of checking accounts, the transactions may also includeelectronic bill payment transactions in which monies from the checkingaccount of the user are used to pay bills received by the user. Theaccount processing logic 113 may retrieve and store information in thedata storage system 130 relating to the account data 132. Statementgeneration logic 115 may generate statements relating to accounts heldby the account holder 152. Account status logic 117 may generate codesthat indicate that an account has an adverse account status. An accountmay have an adverse account status for a variety of reasons. Examples ofan adverse account status include a payment delinquency on a credit cardor other loan, an overdrawn checking account, being over the creditlimit on a credit card, excessive transactions on one account,suspicious or fraudulent transactions on an account, and so on. In theexample described below, the adverse account status is assumed to be apayment delinquency on a loan.

The funds transfer logic 119 may be used to transfer funds betweenaccounts of a single account holder 152 or between an account of anaccount holder 152 and a third party (which may or may not be anotheraccount holder). The funds transfer logic 119 may receive a fundtransfer request from an account holder through a teller, through theon-line banking area of the website, or through other systems in thebanking institution computer system 105, such as the collections portallogic 140, or other outside collections system. In response to a fundtransfer request, the fund transfer logic 119 may transfer funds from anaccount that is not in default to an account that may be in default. Thefund transfer logic 119 may perform the transfer of funds by updatingthe account data 132.

Network interface logic 120 may be used to connect the computing system105 to the Internet to permit customers to use computers 150 to accesscomputing system 105 through an on-line banking area of a website of thebank. For example, in the context of desktop/laptop computers, networkinterface logic 120 may comprise one or more web servers that provide agraphical user interface (e.g., a series of dynamically-generated webpages) for users that access system 105 through the web. The graphicaluser interface may be used to prompt the user to provide logininformation, passwords and other authentication information (i.e.tokens, pins, answers to personal questions, or the like), to providethe user with account information, and so on. Network interface logic120 may also comprise other logic that is configured to provide aninterface for other types of devices such as handheld mobile computingdevices 150 (e.g., portable e-mail devices, cell phones, smart phones,and so on), ATMs, and server-based computing systems, and so on.

The data storage system 130 stores account data 132 and other financialdata 134. The account data comprises account balance information foraccounts held by the customers with the financial institution. Thefinancial data 134 may comprise other financial information regardingthe customers (e.g., in the form of a self-cure table for each customer)that may be gathered from internal and external sources. For example,financial data 134 may include a variety of information regarding anygiven customer such as, for example, balance trends, net worth, equityratios, late payments, past collections histories or the like. Theutilization of data 132 and 134 is described in greater detail below.

The collections portal logic 140 may be used to resolve the adverseaccount status associated with an account holder 152, in the illustratedexample, assumed to be a delinquent payment(s) on a loan. Thecollections portal logic 140 includes risk assessment logic 141, messagegenerator logic 143, payment option logic 145, and virtual collectionagent logic 147. As indicated previously, part or all of computingsystem 105 may be associated with vendors to whom billing, collection,or call center operations are outsourced by other companies. Hence, forexample, virtual collection agent logic 147 may be associated with acollection agent vendor rather than being part of the enterprisecomputing system 105 of the financial institution.

The risk assessment logic 141 may be used to generate a risk assessment(e.g., a risk score) in connection with an adverse account status. Therisk assessment may, for example, be in the form of a risk score orother quantification indicating the probability of an adverse eventoccurring (such as delinquency or default on the account debt). Forexample, if the customer has missed a credit card payment, but accountdata for the customer indicates that the account balances of thecustomer have been relatively stable and the customer has cash availablethat is well in excess of what is needed to completely pay off thecredit card, then the risk assessment logic may generate a risk scoreindicating that a relatively lower degree of risk. Conversely, if theaccount data for the customer indicates that the account balances of thecustomer have dropped significantly in recent months, and the customerhas cash available that is significantly less than the outstandingcredit card balance, then the risk assessment logic may generate a riskscore indicating that a relatively higher degree of risk.

The risk assessment may be generated based on data 132 and 134. Theaccount data 132 (e.g., the amount of the delinquency, the existence ofother delinquencies, the account balances on other accounts held by theaccount owner, and so on) is updated at least on a daily basis andprovides a real time indication of the financial status of the customer.The financial data 134 may comprise other financial informationregarding the customers (e.g., in the form of a self-cure table for eachcustomer). The financial data 134 may be updated in real time (e.g., inthe case of data that is generated based on account data) or may beupdated on at least a daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis,depending on the data that is being updated.

The financial data 134 may include data from internal and externalsources. The data from internal sources may include analytic data thatis generated based on the account data 132 (e.g., account balancetrends, net worth, equity ratios, late payments, past collectionshistories, number of days of delinquency, and so on), which may also beupdated on a daily basis. The data from external sources 160 may includedata from credit agencies, Dunn & Bradstreet, Hoovers, governmentagencies, and other institutions. For example, such data may include thecredit score of the customer as provided by a credit reporting agency.The credit score may be retrieved in real time upon login or it may beretrieved and stored in advance (e.g., updated on a weekly or monthlybasis). Such data from external sources 160 may also include economicdata that is not personal to the customer but rather reflects broadereconomic trends that impact the customer more directly than the generalpopulation as a whole. For example, if the customer is known to have aparticular profession, then the data may include data indicating theeconomic prospects for that profession. Likewise, if the customer isknown to live in a particular geographic region (e.g., a particularMSA), then the data may include data indicating the economic prospectsfor that region. Such data may be updated regularly, for example, as newgovernment reports are published containing such information. As anotherexample, if the customer is known to be employed by a particularcompany, then the data may include information indicative of theeconomic prospects of that company (e.g., current stock prices of thecompany, stock price trends for the company, D&B ratings, and so on).

The message generator logic 143 may be configured to determine the formand content of an alert status message based on the risk assessmentprovided by the risk assessment logic 141 and other information. Themessage generator logic 143 may be programmed to present variouspredetermined messages with varying urgency for a delinquent accountholder during an online customer collections process. For example, ifthe risk assessment logic 143 determines that there is a relatively highdegree of risk associated with a particular delinquency, the statusmessage may be provided in the form of a splash page which breaks theflow of the normal login process of the customer into an on-line bankingarea of the bank's website. Conversely, if the risk assessment logic 143determines that there is a relatively low degree of risk associated witha particular delinquency, the customer may be allowed to proceeddirectly to the on-line banking area of the bank's website, and thestatus message may be provided in the form of a message that is placedadjacent other account information for the delinquent account of theaccount holder. Likewise, the content (e.g., wording) of the message mayalso be varied depending on the level of risk to reflect varying levelsof urgency for the customer to resolve the delinquency.

Additionally, the message generator logic 143 may include a businessrules engine that allows other messaging rules to be programmed andtaken into account. Such rules may operate on data 132 and/or 134(including data that is updated in real time) or may operate on otherdata. Such rules may be based on factors that are not risk-based, thatis, that are not driven by the risk that the customer will be unable torepay the delinquent account but rather are driven by otherconsiderations. One example of such a factor is legal/regulatory-basedfactors. For example, if a customer has declared bankruptcy, then it maynot be legally permissible to transmit messages to the customerregarding the collection of delinquent accounts, even though the riskassessment generated by the risk assessment logic 141 would otherwisecause an urgent message to be transmitted. Hence, business rules may beprogrammed to prevent the transmission of such messages to a customerthat has declared bankruptcy. As another example, different states havedifferent requirements under state law regarding disclosures that mustbe provided to consumers. The content of the messages may be programmedvia business rules to reflect such differences in state laws. That is,different business rules may be programmed which specify the content ofdisclosure messages for different states, such that a consumer locatedin a given state is provided with the correct disclosure message forthat state. Another example of non-risk based factors is businessoperations-based factors. For example, a customer may have multipledelinquent accounts, each of which delinquencies alone merits a message.However, after a first splash screen is presented, the marginal utilityof presenting the customer with additional splash screens may be deemedfor business reasons to be minimal. Accordingly, business rules may beprogrammed to prioritize the accounts, such that a splash screen isgenerated only in connection with one of the accounts. Another exampleof non-risk based factors is customer relations-based factors. Forexample, if one of two joint account holders has passed away, it may beundesirable to contact the other account holder regarding accountdelinquencies, at least for a period of time. As such, a business rulemay be implemented that prevents messages from being sent to the otheraccount holder for a predetermined period of time after the passing ofthe first account holder.

The payment option logic 145 generates payment options for self-cure ofthe delinquency by the account holder 152 (FIG. 7). The payment optionlogic 145 also determines whether to generate settlement options for theaccount holder 152 (FIGS. 8-12). This determination may be made uponlogin based on the account data 132 and based on the risk assessmentgenerated by the risk assessment logic 141. For example, where thedelinquency is determined to have a relatively low degree of risk, thepayment option logic 145 may determine that no alternative settlementoptions are required. Alternatively, where the delinquency is determinedto have a relatively high degree of risk, the payment option logic 145may determine that alternative settlement options are required. Further,in this situation, the payment option logic 145 may proceed withgenerating such options. Hence, the customer may be provided withoptions to pay off a credit for less than the total amount owed. Again,the options may be generated based on the account data 132 and based onthe risk assessment generated by the risk assessment logic 141. Thesettlement options may be displayed immediately (e.g., as part of asplash page) or in subsequent displays generated by the virtualcollection agent logic 147.

The payment option logic 145 may also determine whether only a singlesettlement option is to be provided (e.g., in relatively lower risksituations) or whether multiple settlement options are to be provided(e.g., in relatively higher risk situations). The payment option logic145 may also determine the order in which such options are provided, forexample, based on past collections history. For example, if a delinquentaccount holder 152 has accepted a particular type of offer (i.e. apercentage payment, monthly payment plan, 12 month payment plan from acredit card, transfer from a particular checking account, paying theminimum or the like) in the past, then that type of offer may be one ofthe first offers presented to the account holder. In another embodimentthe payment option logic 145 may identify for the account holder thatthe account holder has chosen a particular type of offer in the past. Inyet another embodiment, the payment option logic 145 may access accountdata and store a favorite type of offer as selected by the accountholder 152 during a previous last collections process.

The virtual collection agent logic 147 presents the settlement optionsto the account holder. The virtual collection agent logic 147 may alsoprompt the customer to answer a series of questions to resolvedelinquent status of the account and bring the account to non-delinquentstatus. The virtual collection agent logic 147 may also manage paymentstreams from the account holder to pay off a delinquent account or tobring a delinquent account up to date. In one embodiment, the virtualcollection agent logic 147 is provided by a third party (e.g., a vendorcomputer system that is separate enterprise computing system of thefinancial institution). From the perspective of the customer, however,such integration may be seamless and it may appear to the customer thatthe customer is still on the website of the banking institution. Forexample, the same URL may be used and a single sign-on process may beused (i.e., in which the customer only logs on once, namely, when firstentering into an on-line banking session). In other embodiments, thevirtual collection agent logic 147 may be provided as part of theenterprise computing system 105.

Referring now to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the presentdisclosure that may be implemented using the system shown in FIG. 1. Atstep 205, authentication information is received from an account holder152. For example, the account holder 152 may be visiting the website ofthe financial institution and may provide login/password information toinitiate an online banking session.

At step 210, the computer system 105 accesses account information foraccounts held by the account holder 152 using the account status logic117 to determine whether the account holder 152 has any delinquentaccounts. The account status logic 117 may indicate that an account isdelinquent, e.g., that the account holder is delinquent in making apayment on a loan. (For purposes of the present example, it is assumedthat the account holder has a delinquent account. If there are nodelinquent accounts, then the process shown in FIG. 2 terminates and thecustomer is delivered directly to on-line banking.) At step 215,information from external sources is accessed. As previously indicated,such information may be obtained in advance and stored in data storagesystem 130 where it can be accessed during user authentication.

At step 220, the risk assessment logic 141 generates a risk assessment.Based on the risk assessment, at step 225, the payment option logic 145determines whether settlement options should be generated and, if so,generates such options. At step 230, the form and content of the alertstatus message is determined and, at step 235, the alert status messageis displayed. The operation of system 105 in the context of steps 230and 235 is described in greater detail in connection with FIGS. 3-12.

Referring first to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 displays a sequence of displays (e.g.,web pages) that may be generated for presentation to an account holder152 by a computer system 150. In particular, display 310 is a loginscreen used to receive login information from an account holder 152.Upon receiving the login information, the account status logic 117determines whether any of the accounts held by the user have an adverseaccount status (e.g., whether the user is late in making payments on anyloans or credit cards) and the message generator logic 143 determinesthe form and content of messaging that is to be used in connection withsuch accounts, as previously described above in connection with steps205-225 of FIG. 2.

The message generator logic 143 customizes the page flow based on therisk assessment (e.g., the risk score) provided by the risk assessmentlogic 141 and other information regarding the account holder 152. Forexample, if it is determined that the customer is to be presented with asplash page (at step 230 in FIG. 2), then the display sequence proceedsto splash screen 320. Splash screen 320 is shown in greater detail inFIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 shows an example splash screen 320that may be displayed to a delinquent account holder 152. In the contextof a website, a splash screen is a page that breaks the normal flow ofweb pages provided to a user as would otherwise have been dictated basedon the clicked-on links and other selections made by the user during theprocess of navigating the website. For example, for an on-line bankingwebsite, if an account summary page is typically the page that isdisplayed after user login, the splash screen may be a page that isdisplayed after login instead of the account summary page. In theillustrated example, the splash screen 320 is displayed instead of theaccount summary page, not in response to user inputs, but rather inresponse to other factors (relating to an account delinquency). In someembodiments, a splash screen may cover the entire display width andheight, however, in other embodiments, the splash screen may only covera rectangle near or around the center of the screen.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the splash screen provides messagecontent that states, “Your credit card account is past due and/or overyour credit limit. Please make a payment now to avoid additional fees.”As previously indicated, each splash screen message may be customized tothe account holder 152 based on the risk assessment generated by therisk assessment logic 141 and based on the rules analysis performed bythe message generator logic 143. As shown in FIG. 4, the splash screenmay offer the choices including continuing to online banking (link 420),account activity page (link 430), viewing payment programs (link 440),or paying online now (link 450). Other embodiments of the splash screenmay display the actual amount and the account that is currentlydelinquent. Yet other embodiments of the splash screen may display anoption to transfer fund from a non-delinquent account to a delinquentaccount. In another embodiment, the splash screen may provide asettlement option and allow the account holder 152 to transfer fundsfrom one account to the delinquent account pursuant to the settlementoption.

Referring now also to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 shows account summary page 330. Ifit is determined that the customer is not to be presented with a splashpage (at step 230 in FIG. 2), then the display sequence proceeds toaccount summary page 330. Alternatively, the display sequence mayproceed to account summary page 330 if the account holder 152 selectslink 420 in FIG. 4.

The account summary page 330 allows the account holder 152 to access theaccount activity. In FIG. 5, for an example account holder 152 who ispast due on a VISA® credit account 520, a message 530 is displayed whichstates: “past due—please pay.” If the account holder clicks on theaccount number (which is a link), then the account holder is deliveredto page 340, shown in FIG. 6. If the account holder 152 chooses to clickon the message (which is also a link), then the account holder isdelivered to page 350, shown in FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is an example display screen that may beshown if the account holder 152 selects link 450 in FIG. 4, link 530 inFIG. 5, or link 620 in FIG. 6. In particular, FIG. 7 allows the accountholder 152 to choose between multiple options for making a payment,including opening a new account and transfer funds immediately (link720), making an immediate on-time payment using transfers (link 730),making an immediate one-time payment from another bank (link 740), andviewing more payment program options (link 750). The payment programoptions may be generated by the payment option logic 145 based onreal-time financial data. If the user selects link 730, the user ispresented with payment options that include other banking institutionaccounts, other credit cards, pay pal accounts, travelers checks,Western Union or other forms for money transfers such as mobile paymentvia text messaging. If the user selects link 740, the user is deliveredto a virtual collection agent, as described in greater detail inconnection with FIGS. 8-12.

Referring now to FIG. 8, FIG. 8 is sequence of displays that may beprovided to an account holder using the system shown in FIG. 1 toprovide a virtual collection agent. As shown in FIG. 8, the paymentoption logic 145 customizes the page flow based on the risk assessment(e.g., the risk score) provided by the risk assessment logic 141 andother information regarding the account holder 152. Thus, as shown inFIG. 8, each account holder that reaches the virtual collection agent isprovided with at least one payment program to remediate their adverseaccount status (screen 820). However, the type of the payment programthat is provided at screen 820, and thus the type of display that isprovided, is determined by the payment option logic 145. For example,the payment program may involve debt cancellation, such that the accountholder ultimately pays an amount of principal which is less than thatowed. As another example, the payment program may involve arestructuring of debt, e.g., such that the account holder ultimatelypays off the entire principal but the term of payments is extended orthe interest rate is temporarily reduced. Likewise, some account holdersmay be provided with only one payment program option (screen 820),whereas other account holders may be provided with one or moreadditional payment program options (screen(s) 830). The payment optionlogic 145 determines the number and type of payment program options thatare provided, and thus the page flow that the account holderexperiences.

Referring now to FIG. 9, FIG. 9 is a screen display 820 showing a firstpayment program that may be offered to an account holder. In the exampleof FIG. 9, the account holder is provided with a settlement offer inwhich a portion of the debt owed by the account holder is canceled. Ifthe account holder selects link 940, then the page sequence proceeds toscreen 840, where the account holder is prompted to provide fundingaccount information, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. If the account holderselects link 950, then the account holder may be provided with one ormore additional payment program options, as previously described. If nomore payment program options are provided, then the account holder maybe returned to the account summary page 330 (e.g., potentially afterfurther prompting to accept the payment program option provided viascreen 820 or to take other remedial actions).

As shown in FIG. 9, the account holder is also provided with a link 960to return directly to the account summary page 330, even in situationswhere the virtual collection agent logic 147 is associated with (e.g.,outsourced to) a collection agent vendor rather than being part of theenterprise computing system 105 of the financial institution. Likewise,as will also be noted in FIG. 9, the screen display 820 continues to bebranded with the logo 970 of the financial institution. As shown inFIGS. 10-11, the account holder may be provided with such links andbranding throughout the pages 820-840 of the virtual collection agent.Thus, even in situations where the virtual collection agent logic 147 isassociated with a collection agent vendor, the account holder isprovided with a consistent, streamlined user experience.

Referring now to FIG. 12, FIG. 12 is screen display that may be providedto an account holder in connection with a second payment program thatmay be offered to the account holder. In the example of FIG. 12, theaccount holder applies for a payment program in which the debt isrestructured. Again, a link the screen display 830 includes a link 1260to return directly to the account summary page 330 and continues to bebranded with the logo 1270 of the financial institution.

FIG. 13 is an example process 1300 that may be implemented using thesystem shown in FIG. 1. Process 1300 includes various steps such as,1301, 1303, 1305, 1307, 1309, 1311 and 1315. Prior to step 1301 anaccount holder with an adverse account status may log into a website orapplication by providing their authentication credentials (e.g.,username, password, and/or security question answers). At step 1301, thecollections portal logic 140 may generate and display a personalized,actionable interruptive sign-on message (e.g. FIG. 14). The message mayinform the user that an account has been late by a specified number ofdays (i.e. 17 days, FIG. 14). At step 1301, the message may display thetotal amount that is owed by the account holder. The account managementlogic 110 may specify the payment account that has sufficient funds topay the total amount that is owed by the account holder. At step 1301,the account holder may provide choices to the account holder to pay now,get payment assistance, or go to online banking.

If the account holder chooses to pay the total amount that is owed, thenprocess 1300 goes to step 1303 which displays a payment confirmation andwrap-up message. (See, FIG. 16) In various embodiments, step 1303 mayprovide reminders to a user to stay current on their subsequentpayments. Additionally at step 1303 a payment confirmation thatindicates the date and time of the payment. Moreover, the confirmationmessage may also provide the available balance for the account that paysthe delinquent account.

If the account holder chooses to get payment assistance at step 1301,the process 1300 may move to a pay partial screen (See, FIG. 17) in step1305. In step 1305, the user/account holder may be provided with apartial amount that may be paid by the account holder. The partialpayment amount may be generated by the payment option logic 145. Invarious embodiments, the partial payment option may also be generatedbased on the input provided from the risk assessment logic 141. Aftermaking the partial payment, the process 1300 may display the screen fromstep 1307.

At 1307, a payment confirmation for the partial payment is displayed. Atstep 1307, a message confirming the payment made by the user isdisplayed. Also at step 1307, the account holder is informed that theaccount holder owes a further payment. At step 1307, the account holderis offered the option to schedule a future payment for the remainder ofthe amount that is owned after the partial payment. At step 1307, theuser may choose to select another partial payment or proceed to onlinebanking.

When an account is seriously delinquent (e.g. greater than 60 days), atstep 1309, the account holder may be provided with a display thatmaximizes opportunities to connect the account holder to a specialist.At step 1309 the user is offered the option to chat with an agent, talkto the agent via a telephone or schedule a call with an agent for afuture time. The account holder may be also be provided options to deferthe payments, forbear, modify the loan or adjust the payment plan basedon the type of loan.

When the account holder chooses to go to online banking after step 1301or any of the other steps that have been previously discussed. When theaccount holder chooses “go to online banking”, a persistent reminder maybe displayed at the top of all displays that are generating during theentire banking session. The persistent message describes the adverseaccount status and the amount that is owed.

FIG. 14 is screen display that may be provided to an account holder whenat least one of the accounts held by an account holder is delinquent. InFIG. 14, the screen display 1400 is generated using current dataregarding the account holder's plurality of accounts. The screendisplays the number of days 1404 that the adverse account is late. Thescreen display 1400 displays the payment amount 1406 that the adverseaccount is delinquent or the total amount that is due including all latefees and charges. The payment account 1408 may be listed in a pull downmenu that lists a plurality of accounts (demand deposit accounts, creditcard account, line of credit) that the account holder has with aplurality of financial institutions. The account holder may select fromone or more accounts to pay the payment amount. After the paymentaccount 1408 pull down menu, the display may include a view accountdetails link 1410. The link 1410 allows the user to view the accounttransactions of the account that is selected in the pull down menu.(See, FIG. 15) The display shown in FIG. 14 is the dynamic andinterruptive sign-on message and it provides the account holder withoptions to pay (i.e. without the account holder having to click throughany additional links or going through any other web pages). In otherembodiments, the user may select the date on which the payment is sentto the creditor. To complete the payment process, the accountholder/user may select the pay now button 1416.

FIG. 15 is an overlay display 1500 that may be provided to an accountholder in connection with display 1400 from FIG. 14. When the accountholder selects view account details link 1410, an overlay display 1500may be generated over the display 1500 in FIG. 14. Retrieving accountinformation regarding the account that was selected in menu 1408 maypopulate the information in the overlay display 1500. The overlaydisplay shows the upcoming payments and the posted transactions and thepending transactions so that the account holder may be able to determinethe amount that is available to pay the adverse account. After theaccount holder reviews the account details and selects the close button,the overlay is removed and the screen 1400 is displayed for the accountholder to complete the remediation process 1300.

FIG. 16 shows a screen display 1600 that shows a payment confirmationpage when the user selected the pay now button 1416 in FIG. 14. FIG. 16illustrates other options that may be provided to the account holder toavoid being late again. As shown in FIG. 16, the user may choose toreceive free alerts for low account balance, nearing the credit limit,or paying the unpaid bills coming due. In other embodiments, the usermay choose to schedule a recurring payment for the account that had anadverse account status as shown in display 1600.

FIG. 17 is screen display 1700 that may be provided to an account holderin connection with an account that is in delinquent status (e.g. morethan one month) but not severely delinquent (e.g. more than two months).In screen display 1700, the account holder is informed that the accountholder is late by a number of days 1710 (e.g. 33 days late). The accountholder is provided the option to choose between two payment amountsbecause the account holder owes two monthly payments on the home equityline of credit. The account holder may choose to make a partial payment.In other embodiments, the user may select the view more payment optionslink 1720. In some embodiments, the virtual collection agent logic 147may generate additional payment options when the user selects paymentoptions link 1720.

FIG. 18 is screen display 1800 that may be provided to an account holderwhen the account holder selects the view more payment options link fromFIG. 17. In some embodiments, screen display 1800 may be generated as anoverlay over display screen 1700. The screen display 1800 may providethe account holder with one or more other options. In some embodiments,a first option 1810 and second option 1820 which the user may selectinstead of the options that the originally presented on screen display1700.

FIG. 19 is screen display 1900 that may be provided to an account holderwhen the account holder has made a partial payment for a delinquentaccount. After receiving a partial payment, the collection portal logic140 may generate a screen display 1900 that confirms that the partialpayment has been received. Besides the partial payment confirmation, thescreen display 1900 may schedule the remainder of the partial payment.The screen display 1900 may include a screen display 1910 that requeststhat the account holder schedule a payment that equals the remainder ofthe payment amount for a future date that is prior to the next due datefor the account that has an adverse account status. The account holderhas the option to also get payment assistance or go to online banking.

FIG. 20 is screen display 2000 that may be provided to an account holderwhen the user account is seriously delinquent (i.e. more than apredetermined number of pay periods behind). In situations of seriousdelinquency, the screen display 2000 may provide the user with aplurality of options as shown in screen portions 2010 and 2020. Inscreen portion 2010, the user may be provided with the options to deferor forbear the debt. Also in screen portion 2010, the account holder maybe provided with the option to modify the loan or change the repaymentplan. Each of the above options may be available based on the type ofloan. For example, forbearance and/or deferment may be available forstudent loans, however, the options 2010 may not be available formortgage loans. In other embodiments, the account holder may wish tochat, talk or schedule with a debt specialist, as shown in screenportion 2020.

FIG. 21 is screen display 2100 that may be provided to an account holderwith an account that is more than 90 days late. In this embodiment, theaccount holder is informed that the account holder is delinquent by 105days in message 2120. The message 2110 recites, “Please make a paymentnow or talk with us immediately.” The severity of the message to theaccount holder increases as the number of delinquent days rises. Inother embodiments, the account holder is provided with the option totalk to the creditor in message 2130.

FIG. 22 is screen display 2200 that may be displayed when the accountholder requests assistance. Screen display 2200 includes paymentreminders 2210, verify contact information 2220, and recurring payments2230. The payment reminders 2210 may allow an account holder to selectone or more e-mail addresses that may receive reminders from thecreditor's financial institution. The payment reminders 2210 may allowthe account holder to select the number of days before the bill is dueto receive an e-mail reminder. Having the verified contact informationfrom the account holder allows the provider of the account to usevarious contacting channels (e.g. cell phone, texts (SMS), e-mail, mail,home phone) to contact the account holder. The account holder is onlycontacted with the account holder's consent. The account holder may beprovided with the option to set up recurring payments 2230 for accountsthat are held by the account holder.

FIG. 23 is screen display 2300 that includes a persistent message 2310that is displayed when the account holder has a past due account and theuser chooses to go to online banking in FIG. 14. In some embodiments,screen display 2300 may be displayed on a computer screen, laptopscreen, tablet screen or the like.

FIG. 24 is screen display 2400 that may be displayed for a user of anATM upon receiving the pin code for the screen display 2400. When theaccount holder has a past due account, the ATM may display a message2410 and message 2420 that allows the account holder pay the past dueamount. In particular, message 2410 informs the account holder that anaccount that is held by the account holder has an adverse accountstatus. Message 2420 provides a selectable link so that the accountholder may remediate the adverse account status. The message 2420 is anattempt to collect a debt and the information will be used for thecollection of the debt. Accordingly, an ATM may be used remediate theadverse account status. In various embodiments, more choices 2430 may beselected by the account holder to remediate the adverse account status.

FIG. 25 is screen display 2500 that may be generated by a mobile device.When the account holder has a mortgage that is past due a persistentmessage 2510 may be displayed to indicate to the account holder that themortgage is past due. As shown in message 2520, the account that is pastdue is also highlighted for the user. The account that is past dueremains highlighted throughout the entire mobile banking session.

In other embodiments, when there are a plurality of accounts for asingle account holder that have an adverse account status, thecollection portal logic 140 may determine which debt to collect first.In some embodiments, the collection logic 140 may attempt to collect thesmallest debt first. In other embodiments, the collection logic 140 mayattempt to collect the largest debt first. Yet in other embodiments, thecollection logic 140 may determine which debt to collect based on thetotal amount of funds that are available in the account holders otheraccounts. In particular, the collection logic 140 may determine the debtto be collected based on an aggregation of the account balances of allthe account holder accounts. For example, when the account holder as$1000 in an account, all debts that are larger than $1000 will not becollected, but all debts that are less than $1000 may be collected. Inother embodiments, certain types of adverse account status may beremediated using certain channels only and the account holder may not besubjected to the same message repeatedly. For example, the same adverseaccount may not be remediated more than twice in a single day or apredetermined time period. The system shown in FIG. 1 may also beconfigured to gather collection data regarding collection channelaccount holder behavior. For example, an account holder may remediatedebts of lower dollar amount via a mobile device while larger dollaramounts may be remediated by another channel. Knowing the aboveinformation regarding the account holder allows the collection portionlogic to customize the collection based on the account holder's previouscollection behaviors. The collection portal logic 140 may analyzemultiple adverse accounts that are delinquent and the system mayremediate the adverse account that is considered the highest risk. Riskmay be determined based on the severity of the delinquency or based onthe amount of funds involved or whether the debt is a secured orunsecured debt.

Although an example page flow is described above, it will be appreciatedthat this page flow is merely one example. For example, although thepage flow is described as being dynamically customized based on the riskassessment provided by the risk assessment logic 141, it will beappreciated that the page flow may also be dynamically customized basedon other factors in addition to the risk assessment. For example, thepage flow may be dynamically customized based on other customer profileinformation that is unrelated to the risk assessment. Likewise, thelinks that are provided on each page may also be dynamically customizedbased on such other customer profile information. Additionally, whilecertain pages are shown in the Figures, it will be appreciated that theFigures are not intended be comprehensive, and various other and/ordifferent pages may also be presented to the account holder.

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of a financial institution computingsystem 2610 according to an example embodiment. Financial institutionsmay include any establishment whose business includes a focus onfinancial transactions, such as crediting, debiting, funds transfer,investments, loans, deposits, exchanging currency, etc. Financialinstitutions may include organizations such as banks, trust companies,insurance companies, investment dealers, title loan companies, etc.Financial institution computing system 2610 may include financialaccounts module 2620, optimization engine 2630, data collector 2640,advisor manager 2650, interaction manager 2660, and storage. Financialaccounts module 2620 may be configured to manage the logistics andoperations of the financial accounts held at the financial institutionthat operates the computing system 2610. Financial accounts module 2620may allow financial accounts to be opened or closed, may facilitatetransactions within and between financial accounts, may compute anddisplay statistical and informational data regarding individualfinancial accounts or a section or subsection of financial accountswithin a financial institution, etc. Financial accounts module 2620 mayalso compute and allow statistical and informational data regarding allfinancial accounts within a financial institution to be displayed andanalyzed as a whole. According to one embodiment, financial accountsmodule 2620 may retrieve information from and send information to datacollector 2640, advisor manager 2650, interaction manager 2660, and/orstorage.

Financial institution computing system 2610 also includes anoptimization engine 2630, which receives and analyzes informationrelating to a customer's debt, risk, and/or account status to developand output an integrated collection plan. The collection plan, alsoreferred to as an individual customer action plan, may include asuggestion of subsequent outreach steps, prevention steps, or channelinteraction suggestions to initiate a collection process, carry out acollection process, or prevent an account from falling within acollections process. The optimization engine 2630 may be used tooptimize interaction through channels for collection messaging,including determining cost effective channels during various collectionstages (e.g. early, late, urgent) that will elicit a response from acustomer. Resulting from the optimization engine 2630 is an integrated,consistent collection experience for a customer. Such an experience mayallow a customer to feel that collection actions taken by a financialinstitution are consistent, thoughtful, purposeful, and harmonious, thusresulting in better service to the customer.

Referring still to FIG. 26, the data collector 2640 collects data fromseveral sources that may be used in creating a collection plan for acustomer. The data collector 2640 may collect data from sourcesincluding financial accounts module 2620, the stock market, a newssource, daily interest rates, outside collection entities, actuarialtables, etc.

The advisor manager 2650 manages functions performed by the optimizationengine 2630 to create a collection plan for a particular customer byaccessing and analyzing information in a customer profile 2920. Theadvisor manager 2650 may use information from a variety of sources,including the customer profile 2920, information collected from the datacollector 2640, information in the financial accounts 2620 and storage,etc., to develop an optimal collection plan.

The interaction manager 2660 may be configured to manage the executionof the collection plan developed in the advisor manager 2650 throughspecific channels. The interaction manager 2660 may communicate withcomputing systems, agencies, storage systems or lists that control orsupport the operation of different interaction channels, sometimes alsoreferred to herein as message delivery channels. For example, where acollection plan may call for reduced phone calls and written letters,the interaction manager may update call lists and computing systemsresponsible for implementing the calls and letter production.

The financial account module 2620, optimization engine 2630, datacollector 2640, advisor manager 2650 and interaction manager 2660, mayeach comprise logic or code disposed within memory and executable by aprocessor to perform the functions and duties described throughout thedisclosure. The systems may be described throughout the disclosure asperforming a number of duties and functions in a particular order. Aperson having ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that simplereordering or sequencing of functions and duties may result in the sameoutcome. The description is not intended to limit the arrangement ofexecution of the duties.

Computing system 2610 may further comprise a plurality ofchannel-specific message generators 2670. The message generators 2670may be configured to generate remdiation messages for different channelsto be delivered to the account holder responsive to information receivedfrom the optimization engine 2630. For example, the message generators2670 may include an email generator configured to generate and sendremediation messages via email. As another example, the messagegenerators 2670 may include an ATM message generator configured togenerate and send remediation messages for display to a customer at anATM. The message generators 2670 may further include additionalgenerators configured to generate and send remediation messages inconnection with each of the channels shown, e.g., in FIG. 30.

FIG. 27 is a flow diagram showing an overall collection processperformed by optimization engine 2630 according to an exampleembodiment. The collection process 2700 may be performed by theoptimization engine 2630. The process may involve receiving interactiondata relating to a customer (2710). Interaction data may include anydata resulting from interaction with a customer through any channel oravenue of communication. Such channels may include email, SMS textmessage, ATM interactions, telephone interactions, online survey orwebsite portal interactions, etc. For example, the interaction data mayinclude a promise to pay by a customer, a past attempt to reach acustomer, a customer's reaction or response to attempts to communicateor collect information, a set of customer preference regarding how thefinancial institution computing system 2610 communicates with thecustomer, etc. The interaction data may also be received from anothersource instead of the customer directly. For example, a telephone callto a customer's residence may result in connecting with a family memberor housing mate of the customer, wherein the family member or housingmate may provide information relating to a customer that may be usefulin the collection effort. For example, a family member or roommate mayoffer information that the customer is ill, out of the country, nolonger living at the provided residence address, has passed away, etc.

The process may also involve accessing the financial institutiondatabase or storage (2720). The financial institution database may storedata and information relating to the financial accounts held by acustomer within the financial institution or information relating tocustomer profiles. Such data may derive from sources internal orexternal to the financial institution computing system 2610, forexample, data regarding balance trends, net worth, equity ratios, latepayments, past collections histories or the like.

The optimization engine 2630 may be configured to access a customerprofile 2920 (2730). The customer profile 2920 may be used to storespecific information regarding customers and facilitate the creation ofan individual collection plan for a customer according to the contentsof the customer profile 2920. The optimization engine 2630, the datacollector 2640, the advisor manager 2650, the interaction manager 2660,and the financial accounts module 2620 may be configured to access thecustomer profile 2920.

Referring still to FIG. 27, the optimization engine 2630 may beconfigured to determine individual customer actions across interactionchannels (2740). Individual customer actions may include previousactions taken by the financial institution along with responses to thoseinteractions. For example, a previous call with a customer may be notedalong with the content of the call as a previous interaction through atelephonic channel. An acceptance and read receipt from an email or atext may be another interaction, wherein the system may note that thecustomer was notified through the electronic channel at a particulardate and time. Based on this information, the optimization engine 2630determines a collection plan that includes actions to be performed withrespect to the customer. The collection plan may implement anintegrated, continuous messaging and collection campaign to provide thecustomer with a meaningful experience. The optimization engine 2630 maybe configured to make this determination automatically, periodically, orupon manual selection and command through a user interface. FIG. 27Abelow further explains the process implemented by the optimizationengine 2630 to determine individual customer actions across interactionchannels in greater detail.

At step 2750, the system may be configured to distribute the individualcustomer actions determined at step 2740. The individual customeractions may be distributed to the advisor manager 2650, the datacollector 2640, the customer profile 2920, or the interaction manager2660. The customer profile 2920 may store the individual customeractions or have a module that can display a plurality of suggestedactions. The interaction manager 2660 may oversee implementation of theactions. Further detail regarding individual customer actions may befound below, including in FIGS. 27A and 28. The individual customeractions may be viewable on a display.

FIG. 27A is a flow diagram showing step 2740 of FIG. 27 in greaterdetail. Specifically, FIG. 27A shows a process of performed by theoptimization engine 2630 to determine actions to be performed withrespect to a customer. The process may include gathering categoryinformation (2741). Category information may include informationrelating to categorized segments in which a customer may fall based on avariety of factors. For example, category segments into which a customermay fall include lax payer, financially distressed, strict payer,recently bankrupt, etc. These category segments may depend upon anynumber of features, such as the amount of funds a customer has in thecustomer's financial accounts, the customer's payment history, acustomer's default history, outstanding debt, etc. Category informationmay be received from the financial accounts module 2620, data collector2640, storage within the financial institution computing system 2610,and/or an outside source configured to securely communicate withsections of the financial institution computing system 2610.

The process of determining individual customer action may also includegathering channel and time preference information (2742). The channeland time preference information may be gathered from the financialaccounts module 2620, data collector 2640, storage within the financialinstitution computing system 2610, and/or an outside source configuredto securely communicate with sections of the financial institutioncomputing system 2610. The time and channel preferences may be gatheredfrom a customer directly through channels or indirectly from relatedsources and may serve to aid the optimization engine 2630 system oradvisor manager 2650 in receiving the customer's preferences todetermine the best individual customer action. Time and channelpreferences describe the method and frequency in which a customer wouldlike to be contacted. Several components (e.g., the interaction manager2660, data collector 2640, advisor manager 2650, etc.) may interact witha variety of channels to receive the time and channel preferencesdirectly or indirectly. For example, a preference may be receiveddirectly from the customer through an online survey indicating that thecustomer only wishes to be contacted during the evenings on thecustomer's home phone. Customer preferences may also be deduced based ona customer's interaction between different channels. For example, ifpast behavior of a customer reveals that the customer responds to email,texts, or regularly check their online digital account yet the customeris non-responsive to non-digital forms of communication (i.e., lettercampaign, phone calls, etc.), then the system may conclude that thecustomer prefers the specific digital channels used. Similarly, if thesystem registers no activity through digital channels such as onlinebanking or texts, the system may set customer preferences fornon-digital channels. Also, if a customer is observed as regularlylogging into the banking website or calling the bank at certain times ofthe day, then the customer's time preference may be deduced from thosebehavioral observations.

According to some embodiments, determining individual customer actionmay also include assessing collection goals of the financial institution(2743). The collection goals prioritize the customer's debt according tocollection strategies and needs unique to a specific financialinstitution and/or the customer. For example, a financial institutionoffering several lines of credit to customers may prioritize collectinga particular type of debt for a specific reason generally (e.g., creditcard debt prioritized over home loans). With respect to an individualcustomer partaking in several lines of credit, the financial institutionmay prioritize collecting one debt over the other (e.g., collecting homeloan debt over educational loans or credit card debt). The collectiongoals of a financial institution may be important to consider so thatthe collection effort directed toward the customer will be consistent,purposeful, and relevant.

Determining an individual customer action may involve analyzing thecollection history relating to a customer (2744). The collection historymay include an account of all previous interaction with the customerthrough all channels or mechanisms as related to the collection efforts.The interactions may include a status message alerting the customer ofthe debt as the customer logged into an account on a specific day.Another interaction may involve reminding a customer about a debt when acustomer calls the financial institution to discuss a matter that mayinvolve an issue separate from the debt collection. A letter sent to thecustomer's residential address may also comprise an interaction. Thecollection history may catalogue the time and date of the interaction,length of the interaction, channel of the interaction (e.g., phone,brick and mortar, email), customer result from the interaction (e.g., apromise to pay, payment remittance, hostility, etc.) etc. The collectionhistory may be imported into the customer profile 2920.

In one example embodiment, the process of determining an individualcustomer action may include analyzing external standard informationsources (2745). External standard information sources may includeinformation that may not necessarily be unique to a particular customerbut may be relevant to a customer. This information may include laws,rules, stock market reports, agency reports, financial institutionrules, policies, and procedures, local, national, and international newssources, etc.

The process may involve cross-referencing information and comparingcharts, rules, collection history, and lists to determine preferredindividual collection actions (2746). The process may compare charts,rules, and collection history with other information accessed andanalyzed in the information above to determine a plurality of individualcollection actions to take for a customer. The individual collectionactions that may result from cross-referencing information and comparingcharts, rules, and collection history relating to a customer maydescribe preferred collection actions a financial institution may taketo communicate with a customer regarding collections. These actions mayinclude restricting or permitting communication in a plurality ofchannels, making an offer to the customer, etc.

FIG. 28 is a flow diagram of an advice manager decision making process2800 according to an example embodiment. The advice manager maycategorize a customer into segments (2810). This categorization processmay involve assigning customers to segments, calculating or assigningrisks according to the segmentation, and assigning allowable actions (orrestricting actions) based on the category and risk. The customercategory scheme is depicted in FIG. 28A and described in greater detailbelow.

The advisor manager decision making process 2800 may involve the advisormanager 2650 accessing the customer profile 2920 to determine customerpreferences (2820). The customer profile 2920 may maintain a customer'spreference regarding the details of how a financial institutioncommunicates with the customer, including time, interaction channel,frequency, content of message, etc. For example, the customer mayappreciate the financial institution letting the customer know asignificant amount of detail about the customer's debt or late payment.Another customer, for example, may only desire a short reminder and aneasy method to remit payment. The customer profile 2920 may alsomaintain information regarding related financial accounts shared withother customers at the financial institution (e.g., a parent may have aco-account with a child or spouse). The advisor manager 2650 may includefinancial information relating to financial accounts in which thecustomer share or is included as an account holder or beneficiary.

According to one embodiment, the process 2800 may access externalstandard information sources to develop a decision (2830). The process2800 may access similar external standard information sources describedabove in step (2745) of the process of determining an individualcustomer action by the optimization engine 2630. The external standardinformation sources may include general yet relevant informationregarding a customer. These sources may include laws, rules, stockmarket reports, legal agency reports, financial agency reports,financial institution rules, policies, and procedures, local, national,and international news sources, etc. The process may access externalstandard information that contains data from credit agencies, licensingagencies, government agencies, and other institutions. For example, suchdata may include the credit score of the customer as provided by aplurality of credit reporting agencies, auditing or board licensinginformation if the customer is or owns a business, business ratings,etc. Such data from external sources 160 may also include economicinformation relating to the customer's profession including economictrends, job stability, and market demands.

The process may determine individual customer actions based oninformation from sources described above, including information from thecustomer profile 2920, financial accounts, external standard informationsources, data collector 2640, etc. (2840). The individual customeractions include available collection outreach options for a customerbased on the sources above.

The interaction manager 2660 may receive (2850) information from theadvisor manager 2650 to execute an individual customer action plandeveloped through the process above. For example, the interactionmanager 2660 may remove the customer's number from call lists if anindividual customer plan states that the customer should no longerreceive calls, or the interaction manager 2660 may send a message to theserver to update call lists for agents. The interaction manager 2660 maybe accessed automatically after the advisor manager 2650 creates thecustomer action plan or the interaction manager 2660 may execute upon amanual command, such as by engaging, clicking, or initiating an icon orhyperlink on a user interface.

FIG. 28A is a flow chart of one example of the customer category schemeof the advice manager decision making process 2800. The customercategory scheme in step 2810 may have categories with several segmentsof customers. For example, the segments may include a lax payer,financially distressed customers, strict payers, previously bankruptpayers, etc. A customer may be categorized as a lax payer if thecustomer occasionally fails to meet the approved deadline for paymentsyet, according to financial accounts owned by the customer, the customeris financially capable of paying the debt. For example, a customer mayhave a high balance in one or several of the customer's accounts and yetthe customer may periodically remit payment days or weeks after a givendeadline. A customer may be categorized as financially distressed if thecustomer has a low balance in the customer's financial accounts, and/ora high amount of debt or repayment obligation, etc. A customer may becategorized as a strict payer if the customer routinely makes paymentson debt or obligations before the specific deadlines. Strict payers mayor may not include financially distressed payers. A customer who iscategorized as a strict payer may, for example, may set up paymentsusing automatic deduction systems. A customer's categorization maychange, alter, or vary from time to time based on the circumstances acustomer encounters. For example, a customer categorized as a lax payermay fall into the segment of a financially distressed customer shouldthat customer lose a lawsuit, lose a family member who serves as thefamily principle source of income, lose money in the stock market, orhave a significant reduction of funds in the customer's account for anynumber of reasons.

Risk probability levels may be assigned to customers based on thecustomer's category segment. The risk levels may include low defaultrisk, medium default risk, high default risk, etc. In other embodiments,the risk level may be specified in terms of a score (e.g., 0 to 100) ora decimal value (0.00 to 1.00). The risk levels may be calculated ordetermined based on the individual customer category and background orthe risk levels may be determined based on pre-determined risks for agroup of customers as a whole at a financial institution. Other factorsmay be taken into account to define the risk levels. For example, thesefactors may include the type of debt a customer has, the ranking ofimportance of the debt by the financial institution, the likelihood ofcharge-offs, tax considerations, the amount of time the customer hasmaintained the debt, the amount of time a customer has been categorizedunder a specific segment, etc.

Certain actions or rules may be assigned to a particular segment andrisk level. These actions may involve restricting interaction channels,allowing channels, etc. For example, FIG. 28A shows a lax payer having alow default risk level may be contacted through interaction channelsincluding text, email, and ATM. A rule may be set that causes theoptimization engine 2630 to adhere to the preferences set by a customer.Such preferences are described in greater detail, for example, in thepreference chart of FIG. 30. The preferences may further include havinga customer or decision maker opt out of interaction channels. Afinancially distressed segment with an assigned high default risk mayallow or require interaction channels through text, email, and brick andmortar locations. The ability to opt-out of certain channels, however,may not be allowed. A strict payer with a low default risk level may becontacted through channels including text and email. Reduction ofactivity in certain interaction channels and total channel opt-outoptions may be adhered to. The rules and actions made capable with thesystem and process described may all be subject to banking industryrules and procedures and particular financial institution missions,procedures, and goals for customer satisfaction.

FIG. 29 is a data flow diagram according to an example embodiment. Thecustomer profile 2920 may receive information from a variety of sources(2910). For example, the customer profile 2920 may receive informationfrom interaction channels, financial accounts module 2620, externalstandard information sources, etc. The information received from thesesources may include information specific to an individual customer. Insome embodiments, the information may include data, which, although isnot specific to the individual customer, is related to the customer.

The customer profile 2920 may specify the category (or category segment)of a customer. The category may be determined based on the customercategory scheme of 2810. The customer may be categorized as a lax payer,financially distressed, strict payer, or some other category. Acustomer's particular category may accompany a risk level and certainactions attributable to the categorization of the customer only.However, those actions may be further restricted in the final individualcustomer action plan 3210 developed by the optimization engine 2630.

The customer profile 2920 may also include a customer's channelpreference. FIG. 30 shows an example of a preference chart that shows acustomer's communication preference according to one embodiment. Thechannel preference may update each time a response from a customer isreceived. The channel preference's update may be based on behavioralobservations or explicit instructions by the customer.

The customer profile 2920 may contain interaction history relating tothe customer. This history may include the customer's payment history,default history, contact history, the financial institution's collectionhistory, etc. The contact history may be parsed according to thechannels in which a customer has contacted the institution. For example,a contact history may include regarding the time, date, location, andreasons of a customer's contact with the financial institution. Suchcontact history may reveal that a customer visited a branch to makethree deposits, the customer logged onto the online banking site twicein the past two weeks (documenting specific dates and times), and thecustomer used the texting services provided by the financial institutionto check the customer's balance ten times in a month. The financialinstitution's contact history may reveal that a reminder of thecustomer's debt was printed on two deposit slips, the customer spoke toa teller or banker regarding the debt during one of the visits to thebranch, and the online banking system transferred a flashing splashscreen to the customer's interface display during the customer'sprevious online banking login.

The customer profile may also include time preferences for the customer.The time preference may be particular to the interaction channels. Forexample a customer may have no time preferences regarding contact byemail, but a customer may only wish to be contacted by telephone duringthe early afternoon on weekdays. The time preferences may be determinedbased on explicit instructions from the customer or observed behavior ofthe history of interaction through the channels. This information may betransferred (2930) to other portions within the financial institutioncomputing system 2610 or outside sources including, advisor manager2650, interaction manager 2660, data collector 2640, external computingsystems for creditors or debt collectors, etc.

FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram showing customer preferences that may betracked according to an example embodiment. Digital channels may includeemail, online chat, text (short message service—SMS), web-based channelssuch as online banking portal, and automatic teller machines having adisplay or capability to transmit digital information and/or print outinformation on receipt paper, fax, other digital avenues, etc.Non-digital channels may include call center agents, call lists that maybe dialed by automatic dialers to call a home line or mobile based phonenumber, mailing letters, brick and mortar interactions such as at a bankor a home visit, etc. Channel specific times and rules may also bespecified. For example, one may have preferences that include contact incertain avenues always, never, periodically, sometimes, once a month,etc. These preferences may include at most and at least operators (e.g.,allow contact through a certain channel at most 3 times a week or month,at least once per day, etc.). The preference chart may also includeif/then operators. For example, if a customer is contacted by X, then donot contact the customer by Y (e.g., if the customer is contacted byemail, then do not contact the customer by online chat). Other rules andpreferences may include contacting the customer by a particular channelfor urgent matters (e.g., communicate with me regarding collectionmatters when I enter a brick and mortar location for urgent matters), orwhenever the amount owed exceeds a certain amount specified by thecustomer and/or bank.

The rules and preferences throughout may transfer across digital andnon-digital categories as well as the plurality of channels. Forexample, a preference may suggest the following scenario: if a customeris contacted by text and by call center agents, then do not send thecustomer a letter. The rules and preferences may also apply according tothe amount of money owed or debts. For example, certain rules may applyor be allowed to be selected if the customer has an amount below orabove a threshold selected by the financial institution. The rules andinformation listed in the chart may be transmitted or transcribed in anyform for the customer profile 2920.

The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described withreference to drawings. The drawings illustrate certain details ofspecific embodiments that implement the systems and methods and programsof the present disclosure. However, describing the invention withdrawings should not be construed as imposing on the invention anylimitations that may be present in the drawings. The present disclosurecontemplates methods, systems and program products on anymachine-readable media for accomplishing its operations. The embodimentsof the present disclosure may be implemented using an existing computerprocessor, or by a special purpose computer processor incorporated forthis or another purpose or by a hardwired system.

As noted above, embodiments within the scope of the present disclosureinclude program products comprising machine-readable media for carryingor having machine-executable instructions or data structures storedthereon. Such machine-readable media may be any available media that maybe accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or othermachine with a processor. By way of example, such machine-readable mediamay comprise RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium which may be used to carry or store desired program code inthe form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and whichmay be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer orother machine with a processor. Thus, any such a connection is properlytermed a machine-readable medium. Combinations of the above are alsoincluded within the scope of machine-readable media. Machine-executableinstructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purposeprocessing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions.

Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in the generalcontext of method steps which may be implemented in one embodiment by aprogram product including machine-executable instructions, such asprogram code, for example in the form of program modules executed bymachines in networked environments. Generally, program modules includeroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Machine-executable instructions, associated data structures, and programmodules represent examples of program code for executing steps of themethods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executableinstructions or associated data structures represent examples ofcorresponding acts for implementing the functions described in suchsteps.

As previously indicated, embodiments of the present invention may bepracticed in a networked environment using logical connections to one ormore remote computers having processors. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that such network computing environments may encompass manytypes of computers, including personal computers, handheld devices,multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and so on.Embodiments of the invention may also be practiced in distributedcomputing environments where tasks are performed by local and remoteprocessing devices that are linked (either by hardwired links, wirelesslinks, or by a combination of hardwired or wireless links) through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

An exemplary system for implementing the overall system or portions ofthe invention might include a general purpose computing computers in theform of computers, including a processing unit, a system memory ordatabase, and a system bus that couples various system componentsincluding the system memory to the processing unit. A user computingdevice may be desktop computer, laptop computer, mobile computing device(e.g., handheld e-mail device, cellular phone, etc. The database orsystem memory may include read only memory (ROM) and random accessmemory (RAM). The database may also include a magnetic hard disk drivefor reading from and writing to a magnetic hard disk, a magnetic diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk, and anoptical disk drive for reading from or writing to a removable opticaldisk such as a CD ROM or other optical media. The drives and theirassociated machine-readable media provide nonvolatile storage ofmachine-executable instructions, data structures, program modules andother data for the computer. It should also be noted that the word“terminal” as used herein is intended to encompass computer input andoutput devices. User interfaces, as described herein may include acomputer with monitor, keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, joystick or otherinput devices performing a similar function.

It should be noted that although the diagrams herein may show a specificorder and composition of method steps, it is understood that the orderof these steps may differ from what is depicted. For example, two ormore steps may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence.Also, some method steps that are performed as discrete steps may becombined, steps being performed as a combined step may be separated intodiscrete steps, the sequence of certain processes may be reversed orotherwise varied, and the nature or number of discrete processes may bealtered or varied. The order or sequence of any element or apparatus maybe varied or substituted according to alternative embodiments.Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included withinthe scope of the present disclosure. Such variations will depend on thesoftware and hardware systems chosen and on designer choice. It isunderstood that all such variations are within the scope of theinvention. Likewise, software and web implementations of the presentdisclosure could be accomplished with standard programming techniqueswith rule based logic and other logic to accomplish the various databasesearching steps, correlation steps, comparison steps and decision steps.

The foregoing description of embodiments of the invention has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of theabove teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principalsof the invention and its practical application to enable one skilled inthe art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Othersubstitutions, modifications, changes and omissions may be made in thedesign, operating conditions and arrangement of the embodiments withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

Throughout the specification, numerous advantages of the exemplaryembodiments have been identified. It will be understood of course thatit is possible to employ the teachings herein without necessarilyachieving the same advantages. Additionally, although many features havebeen described in the context of a particular data processing unit, itwill be appreciated that such features could also be implemented in thecontext of other hardware configurations.

While the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the figures and describedabove are presently preferred, it should be understood that theseembodiments are offered by way of example only. Other embodiments mayinclude, for example, structures with different data mapping ordifferent data. The invention is not limited to a particular embodiment,but extends to various modifications, combinations, and permutationsthat nevertheless fall within the scope and spirit of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for initiatingaccount status remediation, comprising: receiving login information,using an account management system of an enterprise computing systemhaving a memory communicably coupled to at least one processor, from anaccount holder via an account login display of an online banking websitepresented to the account holder via a user computing device; responsiveto receiving the login information, accessing, by the account managementsystem, a database and retrieving information regarding an account ofthe account holder from the database; determining, by the accountmanagement system, based on the information regarding the account, thatthe account has an adverse account status; transmitting a splash page tothe user computing device, the splash page comprising a first accountremediation message, wherein the splash page interrupts a flow of anormal login process to the online banking website; retrieve, by theaccount management system, a collection plan associated with the accountholder, the collection plan specifying a digital method of delivery of asecond account remediation message to the account holder, the digitaldelivery method being delivery via at least one of e-mail or text, andfurther specifying a time preference, the collection plan determinedbased on response information including a read receipt corresponding toa previously sent e-mail or text; and delivering, using a collectionsystem of the enterprise computing system, the second accountremediation message using the specified digital method of delivery at atime corresponding to the time preference, the second accountremediation message including an adverse account status display toprompt the account holder to remediate the adverse account status, theadverse account status display being presented to the account holder viathe user computing device, wherein the adverse account status displaycomprises the second account remediation message generated based on theinformation retrieved from the database that informs the account holderof an adverse account status of the account, and wherein the adverseaccount status display comprises a remediation option that isimmediately selectable by the account holder to remediate the account.2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising generating, usinga risk assessment system of the enterprise computing system, a riskassessment regarding the account; wherein the risk assessment isgenerated based on an amount of funds in the account associated with theadverse account status and an amount of funds in other accounts of theaccount holder.
 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein thecollection system is configured to vary the intensity of the secondaccount remediation message based on the risk assessment.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 2, wherein the account holder is presented withoptions for remediation of the adverse account status by self-cure or issent directly to a virtual collections agent, depending on the riskassessment.
 5. The method according to claim 2, further comprisingdetermining the content of the second account remediation message,wherein determining the content of the second account remediationmessage comprises customizing the content of the message based on therisk assessment system, the customized content comprising content otherthan a name of the user and other than account identificationinformation for the account.
 6. The method according to claim 2, whereinthe risk assessment reflects a prediction of future payment patterns ofthe account holder based on past and most recent financial informationregarding the account holder.
 7. The method according to claim 2,wherein the risk assessment reflects changes in credit information,geographic residence and profession of the account holder.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 2, wherein the risk assessment reflects month tomonth account balance trends for the account holder.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 2, wherein the second account remediation message isdisplayed regarding a highest risk account.
 10. The method according toclaim 2, wherein the risk assessment is based on economic data that (1)is not personal to the account holder and (2) reflects broader economictrends that impact the account holder more directly than the generalpopulation as a whole.
 11. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: generating a risk assessment based on the informationretrieved from the database; and determining a sequence of virtualcollection agent pages based on the risk assessment.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the content of the second account remediation messageprovides a greater number of options for high risk account holders thana number options for lower risk account holders.
 13. The method of claim1, wherein the adverse account status comprises at least one of (1) apayment delinquency on a credit card account or other loan and (2) beingover the credit limit on the credit card account.
 14. Acomputer-implemented method for initiating account status remediation,comprising: receiving login information, using an account managementsystem of an enterprise computing system having a memory communicablycoupled to at least one processor, from an account holder via an accountlogin display of an online banking website presented to the accountholder via a user computing device; responsive to receiving the logininformation, accessing, by the account management system, a database andretrieving information regarding an account of the account holder fromthe database, the account including a contact history including a readreceipt corresponding to a previously sent e-mail or text; transmitting,by the account management system, a splash page to the user computingdevice, the splash page comprising a first account remediation message,wherein the splash page interrupts a flow of a normal login process tothe online banking website; retrieve, by the account management system,a collection plan associated with the account holder, the collectionplan specifying a digital method of delivery of a second accountremediation message to the account holder determined based on thecontact history including the read receipt, the digital delivery methodbeing delivery via at least one of e-mail or text; and delivering, usinga collection system of the enterprise computing system, the secondaccount remediation message using the specified digital method ofdelivery, the second account remediation message including an adverseaccount status display to prompt the account holder to remediate anadverse account status, the adverse account status display beingpresented to the account holder via the user computing device, whereinthe adverse account status display comprises the second accountremediation message generated based on the information retrieved fromthe database that informs the account holder of an adverse accountstatus of the account, and wherein the adverse account status displaycomprises a remediation option that is immediately selectable by theaccount holder to remediate the account.
 15. The method according toclaim 14, further comprising generating, using a risk assessment systemof the enterprise computing system, a risk assessment that indicates aprobability of delinquency or default on the account by the accountholder, based on the information retrieved from the database, the riskassessment being generated based on an amount of the adverse accountstatus and an amount of funds in other accounts of the account holder;wherein the collection system is configured to vary the intensity of thesecond account remediation message based on the risk assessment.
 16. Themethod according to claim 14, further comprising: generating, using arisk assessment system of the enterprise computing system, a riskassessment that indicates a probability of delinquency or default on theaccount by the account holder, based on the information retrieved fromthe database, the risk assessment being generated based on an amount ofthe adverse account status and an amount of funds in other accounts ofthe account holder; and determining the content of the second accountremediation message, wherein determining the content of the messagecomprises customizing the content of the message based on the riskassessment system, the customized content comprising content other thana name of the user and other than account identification information forthe account.
 17. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:generating, using a risk assessment system of the enterprise computingsystem, a risk assessment that indicates a probability of delinquency ordefault on the account by the account holder, based on the informationretrieved from the database, the risk assessment being generated basedon an amount of the adverse account status and an amount of funds inother accounts of the account holder; wherein the risk assessmentreflects a prediction of future payment patterns of the account holderbased on past and most recent financial information regarding theaccount holder.
 18. The method according to claim 14, further comprisinggenerating, using a risk assessment system of the enterprise computingsystem, a risk assessment that indicates a probability of delinquency ordefault on the account by the account holder, based on the informationretrieved from the database, the risk assessment being generated basedon an amount of the adverse account status and an amount of funds inother accounts of the account holder; wherein the risk assessmentreflects changes in credit information, geographic residence andprofession of the account holder.
 19. The method according to claim 14,further comprising generating, using a risk assessment system of theenterprise computing system, a risk assessment that indicates aprobability of delinquency or default on the account by the accountholder, based on the information retrieved from the database, the riskassessment being generated based on an amount of the adverse accountstatus and an amount of funds in other accounts of the account holder;wherein the risk assessment reflects month to month account balancetrends for the account holder.
 20. The method according to claim 14,further comprising generating, using a risk assessment system of theenterprise computing system, a risk assessment that indicates aprobability of delinquency or default on the account by the accountholder, based on the information retrieved from the database, the riskassessment being generated based on an amount of the adverse accountstatus and an amount of funds in other accounts of the account holder;wherein the second account remediation message is displayed regarding ahighest risk account.
 21. The method according to claim 14, furthercomprising generating, using a risk assessment system of the enterprisecomputing system, a risk assessment that indicates a probability ofdelinquency or default on the account by the account holder, based onthe information retrieved from the database, the risk assessment beinggenerated based on an amount of the adverse account status and an amountof funds in other accounts of the account holder; wherein the riskassessment is based on economic data that (1) is not personal to theaccount holder and (2) reflects broader economic trends that impact theaccount holder more directly than the general population as a whole. 22.The method of claim 14, further comprising generating, using a riskassessment system of the enterprise computing system, a risk assessmentthat indicates a probability of delinquency or default on the account bythe account holder, based on the information retrieved from thedatabase, the risk assessment being generated based on an amount of theadverse account status and an amount of funds in other accounts of theaccount holder; wherein the content of the second account remediationmessage provides a greater number of options for high risk accountholders than a number options for lower risk account holders.
 23. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the adverse account status comprises atleast one of (1) a payment delinquency on a credit card account or otherloan and (2) being over the credit limit on the credit card account. 24.A collection method comprising: receiving, at a financial institutioncomputing system having a memory communicably coupled to at least oneprocessor, interaction data regarding interactions with an accountholder at a financial institution, the interaction data comprisinglog-on information for an online banking website including a date and atime; creating, using an account management system of the financialinstitution computing system, an account holder profile based on theinteraction data, wherein the account holder profile receives andmaintains a plurality of information and data, including the interactiondata, collection data, and channel data; storing, by the accountmanagement system, the account holder profile in a database system;accessing, by the account management system, the database system andretrieving information regarding an account of the account holder;determining, by the account management system, based on the informationregarding the account, that the account has an adverse account status;selecting, by the account management system, a splash page as a digitaldelivery channel for an account remediation message to be sent to theaccount holder, based on the account holder profile and the interactiondata including the log-on information for the online banking websitecomprising the date and the time; generating, by a message generator ofthe financial institution computing system, the remediation message tobe sent to the account holder; sending, by the message generator, theremediation message to the account holder, the remediation message beingsent via the splash page at a time based on the time of the log-oninformation, wherein the splash page interrupts a flow of a normal loginprocess to the online banking website.
 25. The method of claim 24,wherein information in the customer profile comprises customer-specifiedpreferences for delivery channels.
 26. The method of claim 24, furthercomprising eliminating one or more delivery channels as a messagedelivery option based on business rules.
 27. The method of claim 24,further comprising reducing activity in certain digital deliverychannels based on customer behavior patterns, customer preferences, orstatus of debt.
 28. The method of claim 24, further comprisingdynamically updating the customer profile containing information frompublic sources, credit bureau information, past behavioralcharacteristics of the customer, past account balances, cash flows,and/or account balance trends.
 29. A computer system comprising: anoptimization engine of an enterprise computing system having a memorycommunicably coupled to at least one processor configured to: receiveinteraction data, using an interaction management system of theenterprise computing system, regarding interactions with an accountholder at a financial institution, the interaction data comprisinglog-on information for an online banking website; create an accountholder profile based on the interaction data, wherein the account holderprofile receives and maintains a plurality of information and data,including interaction data, collection data, and channel data; store theaccount holder profile in a database system, access the database systemand retrieve information regarding an account of the account holder;determine, based on the information regarding the account, that theaccount has an adverse account status, and select a splash page as adigital delivery channel for a remediation message to be sent to theaccount holder, based on the account holder profile, the interactiondata including the log-on information for the online banking website,and the risk assessment; and a plurality of remediation messagegenerators respectively corresponding to different digital deliverychannels, at least one of which is configured to: generate theremediation message to be sent to the account holder; and send theremediation message to the account holder via the splash page such thatthe splash page interrupts a flow of a normal login process to theonline banking website.
 30. The method of claim 1, wherein the accountholder profile includes channel opt-in or opt-out information for theaccount holder.
 31. The method of claim 14, wherein the contact historyincludes at least part of a history of previous channel usage.
 32. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the contact history includes responsivenessinformation corresponding to the digital method of delivery.
 33. Themethod of claim 29, wherein the interaction data includes interactiontime data, and the digital channel is selected based on the interactiontime data and based on a time at which remediation message is to bedelivered.